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SPIRIT
LODGE
LIBRARY
Medicine
Wheel
Page
10
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(Main
Links of the site are right at the bottom of the page)
The 24 pages in this Medicine Wheel section are linked below
Introduction To Dancing The Wheel
By CinnamonMoon
The Medicine Wheel is a vehicle,
a tool, a repository of wisdom and teachings of the Ages. It
is like a gyroscope, turning in many directions at once and
allowing various perspectives to be brought into play as a whole.
It has many levels and alongside the perspectives it offers,
these areas can function simultaneously or become independent
points of focus. Learning your way around the Wheel requires
a breakdown to understand it but once that foundation is laid
you can Dance patterns of your own making, randomly, or specifically
for various purposes. Some ceremonies require specific steps
around the Wheel to accomplish a specific goal and achieve enlightenment.
Random Dancing brings various experiences and stems from a light
trance state that develops through the guidance of our Inner
Spirit. Self-imposed patterns allow us to seek out specific
knowledge and experiences. The Medicine Wheel is a versatile
tool that encompasses dimension, time, and space.
To demonstrate what I am talking
about you need to understand that a complete Medicine Wheel
is comprised of 36 stones…each representing a specific
aspect of the whole on many levels. It means that a lot of information
is contained there and one needs to understand each positioned
stone (the symbol of that aspect and it's various dimensional
links) to know what they will find within that focus.
For our purposes we will be looking
at a very basic Wheel comprised of 4 stones and a tree…the
elemental forces of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth along with their
Spirit Keepers with the stones surrounding the Shamanic Tree.
The Shamanic Tree encompasses the Three Worlds, roots going
into the Below World, branches reaching up into the Above world,
and it’s trunk in the Middle World…hence the Seven
Sacred Directions. The main perspectives from which all shamanic
work stems are found in the Seven Sacred Directions. This is
where the shaman stands…feet on Mother Earth, like the
roots of the tree sinking deep; arms outstretched, like the
branches that reach for the sky; and the body of the shaman
becomes the trunk of the tree…the center of its own universe.
As the shaman moves this center
moves too, the two are one and this comes from centering amid
the Sacred Directions to maintain that awareness…one eye,
one ear, one foot in each world seeing the two as parts of the
whole, not drawing lines of division. All is One and the shaman
walks with Spirit…walks their talk…walks between the
worlds…is aware, conscious of the signs and communication
being made available through this process. To Dance the Wheel
is to address the spirit world and open to the answers through
dreams, visions, trance, signs, omens, Guides, Teachers, Guardians,
Totems…through endless sources of information, inspiration,
and enlightenment in an ongoing learning process. It is a state
of being that is lived consciously and intentionally by the
shaman, and Dancing the Wheel lends greater depth to it all.
Each of the elemental forces have
Spirit Keepers. These are the Guardians or Gatekeepers to the
four different realms. They have much to teach us. To the East
we have the Element of Air, and it is here that the Spirit Keeper,
Eagle, dwells. The Gateway of the East lends us the perspective
of the Higher Mind, logic void of emotion, clean, clear, and
inspired…we create, conceive, and seed. In the South we
pass through the Gateway with the help of Mouse who teaches
us to focus on our passion,
innocence, trust, and heart…or in some instances it will
be Coyote that tricks us into our lessons to shatter illusions
and discover realities. To the West we have the Spirit Keeper
of Bear and a perspective of our emotions, nurturing, healing,
love, and introspection…this is where we journey, examine,
and come to know the Self and our interaction with others. The
Gateway of the North is guarded by the Spirit Keeper of Buffalo,
sharing with us the perspective of our foundations and sustenance,
our life experiences that give us knowledge…we apply our
wisdom and understanding from our hearts with grace to our actions
and thoughts as we come to understand the cycles of life and
change.
The Gateway to the Below World exposes
us to the perspective of our Ancestors, the Ancient Ones, the
Elders, and our Totems…we learn the ways of ceremony, ritual,
and lost truths buried in history, the truths of Cosmic Law
and the Medicine Paths. The Gateway to the Above World exposes
us to the perspective of our futures and purpose in life…we
meet with our Guides, Teachers, and Guardians to see into our
future as we see the path before us and why we walk it…and
to learn to use our Gifts and abilities. The Above World is
the realm of the Sky People. The Gateway to the Middle World
is where we bring it all together within us…we are the
Seventh Sacred Direction alive and moving as the center of our
universe through the physical reality and the Now...the present
where we bring all into union to walk between the worlds along
the Web of Life.
To Dance the Wheel is to move through
these realms of dimension and explore them. It is to bring them
into union within us and be aware of all things in our environment
as well as the layers of dimensions that exist super-imposed
upon it. To Dance the Wheel is to experience these realities
as the shaman knows them, to have an eye and an ear in the physical…an
eye and an ear in the spiritual…to be a part of the whole
and understand our relationship to it…to the Web of Life
reflected in the Wheel. To Dance the Wheel is to get in the
driver's seat of an amazing vehicle and begin a fascinating
journey filled with experiences, enlightenments, and realities
that become our own. To Dance the Wheel one can do it physically,
emotionally, mentally, or spiritually…and in a comprised
union with all of these present in our awareness. Dance with
me…our first Dance, one illustrating the process. The next
one will be based on a meditation and movement through each
Sacred Direction expressing the enlightenment it brings to the
question raised. This one is exemplary.
This said, I will be posting a series
of exercises as a separate perspective so you can explore what
I'm presenting to you at your own pace. I want it to come across
as a breakdown of perspectives rather than a continuous flow
of them initially. After you have explored each one you will
start to see how this pattern applies to unification of the
overall view and lends itself to a logical and spiritually aware
conclusion…you'll see both sides of the coin and understand
what a valuable tool you hold in Dancing the Wheel. Be it by
journey, questing, in meditation, or in the physical sense…it
all works together. With a mock question in mind I will address
this as: "Why should we Dance the Wheel?"
Listen to the Drum. …feel the
energy, the rhythm, and let your body move with it. Let me take
you on this journey addressing the same question to each of
the Sacred Directions. For now you are a Witness, soon you will
step into the Dance itself, find your own rhythm, awareness,
and enlightenment, but for now you are a passenger in this vehicle
and will be shown the way.
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Libraries
are on this row
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INDEX
Page 3
(Main Section, Medicine Wheel, Native Languages &
Nations, Symbology)
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INDEX
Page 5
(Sacred Feminine & Masculine, Stones & Minerals)
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©
Copyright: Cinnamon Moon & River WildFire Moon (Founders.)
2000-date
All rights reserved.
Site
constructed by Dragonfly
Dezignz 1998-date
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